Tale of the Tape: D.C. United vs. Columbus Crew

In boxing, the tale of the tape is the pre-fight measurement between the two combatants. In 2013, we'll tell the tale of the tape between D.C. United and its foe of the week.

One Win Shy of 300
If D.C. United claims victory tonight over the Columbus Crew, then it will be the club’s 300th win across all competitions, making the Black-and-Red the second team in MLS history to achieve the mark. The LA Galaxy was the first team in MLS to achieve 300 victories.

RFK, the feared fortress
The Black-and-Red is currently riding a 19-game home-undefeated streak – with its last loss at RFK occurring on 3/10/12 – including United’s 2012 playoff run. Last season, the club captured the most home points (40) of any team in MLS in the regular season.

Hamid’s Hot Streak
A clean sheet against the Red Bulls last Saturday marked Hamid’s second consecutive shutout of the year en route to an MLS Player of the Week award for Week 3. The 22-year-old netminder also leads the League in saves (13), saves percentage (86.7%; minimum of five saves) and shutout streak minutes (181). His stellar performance in the 0-0 draw with New York also moved him up to seventh on the all-time MLS saves percentage list, with 72.5% of shots blocked in his career.

Pushovers on the Road
The Crew finished a joint second-worst in 2012 in the Eastern Conference in goals scored on the road (16).

One Night in October
Few games in the 2012 MLS Regular Season were more memorable that the two teams’ last meeting on 10/20/12. What would prove to be a historic match, D.C. United’s then- rookie Nick DeLeon broke the club’s rookie goal-scoring record with United’s first goal of the match, his sixth on the season. Lewis Neal struck in stoppage time for the game-winning, playoff-clinching strike that capped United’s 3-2 victory over the Crew, sending the Black-and-Red back to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The victory eliminated Columbus for playoff contention.